Running a personality based business? Here’s what you need to do first.

We’ve heard it all before right? The best way to stand out in this oversaturated market of creative small business owners is to bring the essence of who we are to the table. No one can perfectly copy the essence of who we are as individuals so when it comes down to it, personality based marketing remains high on the list for ways to grow and sustain your business.

So there you have it. When starting a business that is going to be uniquely YOU, what is the logical first step in really differentiating yourself amongst the masses?

Knowing as much as you can about your own personality!

Seems simple, but in reality really getting to know yourself and what drives you isn’t always an easy task. It takes some reflection and introspection which doesn’t always come naturally, especially when you are also trying to figure out #allthethings that come along with starting and running a business. Even though you may think you know exactly what makes you tick, there is always more to learn. Let’s dig in!

What is a personality based business?Backing it up a step, what is a personality based business anyway? If you aren’t totally sure, ask yourself these three questions and you should be able to recognize pretty quickly if your biz falls under that category.

1) Does my business benefit from me building relationships with my clients?
2) Is there an emotional investment for my clients when buying my products or services? 3) Do my clients need to trust me before they buy from me?

If you answered yes to 2 or more of these than I would argue that you FOR SURE have a personality based business.

How can I know more about my personality?Great question my young padawan! Being able to identify aspects of your personality in context to how they relate to other people is so important to growing your “tribe” and finding your “raving fans.”

People LOVE buying things from people they understand, relate with or trust based on similar character qualities, shared experiences or beliefs or even sense of humor. Knowing and communicating those things through your online presence, branding and interactions will only increase the number of people who connect with you and eventually buy from you.

Sounds great right? But it’s not always the easiest thing to draw out of ourselves. Oftentimes we feel like we KNOW ourselves, but it can be difficult to get those abstract concepts about who we are out of our heads and out into the world in a way that makes sense to other people.

Here are a few different ways that you can dig in deeper to understand more about your personality and what makes you tick!

16Personalities
This is an easy and fun test that gives you similar result to the very popular, MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator). Super quick to take and the user interface is pretty legit. You’ll get results emailed to you pretty quickly and you’ll be surprised just how accurate they are!

Enneagram
This is a new one to me personally, but I learned so much looking into it! The Enneagram is a model of human personality which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. There are some quick tests you can do online and the “official test” is $12.

The Four Temperaments
Hopefully this doesn’t gross you out (phlegm anyone?) but just go read about it, I promise it’s interesting!

The 5 Love Languages
Although some may not think your love language has a lot to do with your personality, I would beg to differ! Understanding how I feel loved and how I show love has dramatically impacted how I deal with my clients and the type of clients that I attract. If you don’t know your love languages, I highly recommend reading this book because it will positively affect EVERY area of your life, not just your business.

Strengths Finder 2.0
Another fantastic book that I can’t recommend enough to people in business. Knowing the inner workings of what you are inherently good at can be a powerful motivator to keep you going in business especially when the comparison monster makes an appearance. When you start to feel those feelings of inadequacy because of things others are doing, knowing your strengths in comparison to what their strengths are is one of the best ways to stay in your lane and keep moving forward!

Alrighty! You now have some awesome resources to go and figure out more about who you are, and will help you get a more in depth explanation of what your personality actually is! In turn, all that great knowledge will benefit you in the long run when it comes to growing your personality based business! Have fun!

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Cinnamon is a photographer, blogger and educator who is passionate about helping others realize they are capable of more than they think they are. She also hosts Focused podcast with her husband and chats with awesome people about all things photography, business and blogging. She's obsessed with stripes, her fur babies and Instagram stories and has goals about the size of her Netflix queue (it's big ya'll!)